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With nearly two full weeks (and nights) of activities, you
quickly realize that SXSW isn’t a sprint, but a marathon. It’s as
grueling as a 26-mile race, especially when adjusting from an
ecstatic, packed conference room to another mundane queue, to a
fun, low-key rooftop party. And like the shared experience of
race running, a camaraderie forms among you and your fellow SXSW
attendees. It’s an ever-evolving subculture, built on previous
conferences but with a new shorthand every single year. Being a
SXSW attendee is exhilarating, and a slog and you know you’re not
at any other conference when:

Your fluency in swag is expert-Level. Upon your
arrival, you know that your almost empty Interactive Swag Bag is
not the end of your swag trick-or-treating, but the beginning.
Your mantra is “all swag is good swag,” but you begin to evaluate
new freebies with the discerning eye of a Sotheby’s appraiser,
weighing the nuanced pros and cons of everything from free tacos,
to skateboards to free digital downloads. (3-piece candleholder?
Sorry, you don’t make the cut.)

You just lent a charger to a CEO. With tens of
thousands of driven, smart, and eager attendees crammed into a
few-block radius, you’ve casually found yourself next to big
thinkers and even actors and musicians who are just getting a
snack or grabbing themselves a beer. You’ve learned to chat up
the folks around you, knowing the person rearranging all the
laminates around his neck while waiting for a happy hour cocktail
could be the startup founder with the perfect bootstrapping
advice that changes how you think about your company.

You move like a human pinball. Can’t get into
the panel you hoped for? No problem, you have three back-ups. A
new contact’s hot tip puts an unforeseen event on your radar? You
jump at it. Like the mighty pinball, your movements are quick,
repetitive, and calculated. You know you’re not playing for
points, but that continuing to move, learn, and network means
getting the high score.

You can’t believe it’s morning again. SXSW is a
blur, a marathon of faces, places and ideas. You hop from panel
to panel, party to party, scanning #sxsw on Twitter so you don’t
miss a thing. When you wake – likely in last night’s blazer – you
realize that there’s an event at 9 A.M. you wanted to get to and
you do it all again.

You complain about SXSW. Maybe you’re new to the
event and just overwhelmed. Or maybe you’re a veteran and find
yourself talking about the good ol’ days. Those were the times,
you’ll say, that SXSW was something special. Back then, there was
magic! A chance encounter could lead you to your next boss or
even a lifelong friendship. The event was smaller then, more
elite. You say this, and even mean this, but you know you’re
already planning for next year.

Take your own shot at finishing this sentence: You know
you’re a SXSW attendee when…”